Studying neurons isolated from patients’ brains is a very invasive procedure; hence the study of molecular pathways particular to specific subtypes of neurons can only be done using neurons which have differentiated from induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) . Reprogramming technologies now allow the conversion of adult somatic cells into PSCs, and thus human neurons can be studied as they develop and disease-specific pathways prior to and during onset of the disease can be examined. The mechanism of direct programming entails introducing several genes into somatic cells, and growing these cells under conditions that favor growth of human pluripotent cells, and thus cell lines with pluripotent features can be obtained. These cell lines are known as “induced pluripotent stem” (iPS) cell lines. The purpose of this study is to collect tissue from family members with inherited diseases and identify gene sequences and link them to disease susceptibility. We expect that the results of our studies will provide a detailed characterization of brain cell function in patients afflicted with psychiatric illnesses and will offer insight into the mechanisms that contribute to these complex, devastating diseases. The participants will be asked to give a blood sample and fill out general health questionnaires.
The population we will be recruiting from will be from the American University of Beirut Medical Center Psychiatry Department. Patients that qualify for being included in the study will be contacted and consented; they will also be asked to contact members of their family with neuropsychiatric disorders as well as healthy family members in order to draw more definitive conclusions about the heritability of certain genes.
A physician at the AUBMC Psychiatry Department will refer study personnel to the prospective participant (a patient at the department). Study personnel will recruit and consent the participant and ask for them to ask family members about their willingness to participate as well as provide those family members with the personnel's contact information.
Families with more than one individual with a neuropsychiatric disease will be prioritized over healthy families or those with only one person with a neuropsychiatric disease. This is to better investigate the genetic links between these diseases and their heritability throughout the pedigree.
A. Inclusion Criteria for Patients
1. Adults ages 18 -80 (inclusive) may be eligible for enrollment
2. Documented clinical diagnosis meeting strict DSM-IV criteria for any psychiatric diagnosis based on clinician’s assessment and after screening positive on the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire.
B. Inclusion Criteria for Healthy Controls
1. Adults ages 18 -80 (inclusive) may be eligible for enrollment
2. No documented clinical diagnosis meeting strict DSM-IV criteria for any psychiatric diagnosis based on screening negative on the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire.
C. Inclusion Criteria for Family Members
1. Adults ages 18 -80 (inclusive) may be eligible for enrollment
2. May or may not have a documented clinical diagnosis meeting strict DSM-IV criteria for psychiatric diagnosis based on the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire.
A. Exclusion Criteria for Patients
1. General medical illnesses that could interfere with the diagnostic accuracy of the psychiatric interviews (such neurological illness and brain injury).
2. The presence of neurological disorders that could interfere with the diagnostic accuracy of the psychiatric interviews
3. Currently taking medications that could interfere with the diagnostic accuracy of the psychiatric interviews
4. Contraindications to skin biopsy including, but not limited to, bleeding disorders, skin disorders, immune disorders, and anti-coagulant use with INR>2.5
B. Exclusion Criteria for Healthy Control Subjects Only
1. Has any lifetime DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses as screened by the PDSQ
2. Has any first degree relatives with a psychiatric disorder as determined by the results of the Psychiatric Family History of Biological Relatives Form (Form 2)
3. Contraindications to skin biopsy including, but not limited to, bleeding disorders, skin disorders, immune disorders, and anti-coagulant use with INR>2.5